ANOTHER PODIUM FOR GARLAND AT BYMX.
The BYMX roadshow moved onto Finningley for round 5 of the Express Insurance Championship, where the riders were presented with a well prepared track on which to test their sand skills.
Qualification
With the track still in a forgiving state, qualification was wide open and just 1 second split the top 6 riders.
Garland qualified 5th with a time of 1:46.021, just 0.655 behind pole setter Adam Sterry.
Race 1
With a poor mid pack start, Garland put in another strong first lap to move into 6th place by the end of the lap. He progressed to 4th by lap 4 and remained there until lap 7, when he was passed by James Harrison. But he was in determined mood and with just two corners remaining he attempted an audacious pass on Harrison around the outside, but in doing so crashed. Luckily for the youngster he was able to remount without losing a place, finishing in 5th.
Race 2
A better start saw Garland exit the first turn in the top 6 and within two laps he had passed both Kelly and Harrison for 4th. Putting in lap times some 2 seconds quicker than the leader Sterry, Garland was soon right on his back wheel but with a win in sight he was cruelly taken down by a back marker who moved over for the leader but took Garland down in the process. After parting the two bikes Garland was able to rejoin the race in 3rd which he held till the flag.
Race 3
A top 10 start was followed up with a move into 5th by the end of lap 1.
Passing Kelly on lap 4 and Eccles on lap 5 saw Garland move into 3rd but with the front two already out of touch he cruised to the finish for his second 3rd place of the day.
Race 4
Getting pushed wide in the first corner whilst avoiding a fallen rider, Garland exited the turn down in 30th position and despite picking off a number of riders, had only progressed to 14th place by the end of lap 1.
Making progress on every lap saw him move into the top 10 mid race, with further progress lap by lap resulting in 6th at the flag.
Race 5
Sitting in 3rd overall, just 5 points behind Watson and with both Eccles and Kelly breathing down his neck, race 5 was going to be the most important race of the weekend.
Gating just outside of the top 10 and with Watson, Kelly and Eccles all ahead of him, Garland knew he had to push hard to have any chance of a podium for the weekend. Up to 9th by the end of lap 1, he then made up 2 more places on lap 3 with a pass right around the outside of both Harrison and Davidson in the same corner. Eccles was the next rider in sight and on lap 5 he had moved passed him into 4th. Making a pass on Watson on lap 7 saw him progress into 3rd, where he remained, finishing just 2 seconds behind Kelly.
With Watson and his faltering KTM eventually finishing 7th, Garland had done enough to earn second overall for the weekend.
This result has now seen Garland progress to 5th in the championship with 2 rounds to go and although the championship win is unlikely a 3rd place is definitely a possibility as he sits just 2 points behind Harrison in 4th and 14 points behind Kelly on 3rd.
